The incidence of waterborne diseases and food poisoning cases is anticipated to rise in Britain, this summer. An increase in the number of malaria cases is also likely. The incidence of salmonella cases is hoped to soar particularly, as people would opt for more barbecues during summer. Cryptosporidium induced malaria may also be seen when there is an associated heavy rain.
The availability of a well-developed public health system in Britain however would ensure effective management of an outbreak, if any."It's fairly accepted that most of the changes are going to be around hotter summers and more frequency heavy rainfall. We already know that food poisoning is related to temperature. This is because if you leave food outside the fridge at warm temperatures germs grow. There's an interesting area around climate that's how is it going to impact on human behavior - people have more barbecues when it's hot. There's an interesting area around climate that's how is it going to impact on human behavior - people have more barbecues when it's hot”, said Professor Hunter.
Moreover malaria is most likely to occur in areas close to a water resource, such as farms and holiday cottages, which are devoid of a main water supply network. People have been requested to watch out for symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramps that could be due to the water-borne bug cryptosporidium.
"There's still an unbelievably high proportion of people that drink private water supplies. There's evidence to show that these particular supplies are very susceptible to heavy rainfalls", he warned.
The widespread contamination of water resources (more probability of sewage being washed off fields, into rivers and sea) during heavy rainfall could also lead to diarrhea, more so when people get inclined to recreational sea swimming.
It is further believed that changes in migratory patterns could have a significant impact on the occurrence of certain diseases in Britain, in the future. This would also include UK citizens traveling across different regions of the world. "The fact that the impact of climate change here isn't very big doesn't mean that we won't get diseases from people traveling abroad", he concluded.
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